NEWB needs some help upgrading

[dimize]

Happy Holidays,

I am an avid gamer. I presently have
Dell P4 2.4 - FSB is 400 MHz and 512 cache
1280 megs of PC800 RDRam
Radeon 9700 Pro
Turtle Beach Sound Card
I cannot upgrade the processor beyond 2.6 as it is limited by the 400
MHz FSB and my MOBO
2 IDE ATA 100 drives

I've been thinking about upgrading to a new self built system and
really like the P4C800-E Deluxe MOBO. I'd like to add a 3.2 CPU and at
least 1 GB of RAM as well as move to a RAID 0 setup. I may just keep
my video card, unless anyone thinks the jump to an ATI 9800XT is
significant enough to warrant.

My two questions are:
1. Is the upgrade in terms of the 875 chipset with the CPU going to be
noticably faster - from a boost in processor speed that is 33% faster
- but will the faster FSB make system performance greater than 33%?

2. After reading this board, I've noticed that with that MOBO, that
PC3700 DDR is the memory that is recommended. But, on
www.pricewatch.com there is memory at PC4200. What is that? Can it be
used in the MOBO too?

3. Is the upgrade too small to warrant the improvements in speed, and
would you recommend waiting a few months till Prescott is out, etc. to
notice a better ROI on the upgrade.

Thanks for all your input.

Dim-Ize

 

[Philip Callan]

Happy Holidays,

I am an avid gamer. I presently have
Dell P4 2.4 - FSB is 400 MHz and 512 cache
1280 megs of PC800 RDRam
Radeon 9700 Pro
Turtle Beach Sound Card
I cannot upgrade the processor beyond 2.6 as it is limited by the 400
MHz FSB and my MOBO
2 IDE ATA 100 drives

I've been thinking about upgrading to a new self built system and
really like the P4C800-E Deluxe MOBO. I'd like to add a 3.2 CPU and at
least 1 GB of RAM as well as move to a RAID 0 setup. I may just keep
my video card, unless anyone thinks the jump to an ATI 9800XT is
significant enough to warrant.

My two questions are:
1. Is the upgrade in terms of the 875 chipset with the CPU going to be
noticably faster - from a boost in processor speed that is 33% faster
- but will the faster FSB make system performance greater than 33%?

Yes. I noticed the difference between a 2.4 533fsb and my 3.0 800fsb
more than just a processor step. As for video, I've yet to find a game that
can
lag my 9700Pro AIW on the P4C800-E board w/1G of dual channel, (2x512mb)
and a 3.0 HT processor.

2. After reading this board, I've noticed that with that MOBO, that
PC3700 DDR is the memory that is recommended. But, on
www.pricewatch.com there is memory at PC4200. What is that? Can it be
used in the MOBO too?

You could use any memory, but its only going to run it at DDR400 +/- 30% i
believe, as that
is as much leeway as the bios has with auto settings, you may get it higher
with manual tweaking
but unless you plan to OC your chip (why) why OC your memory.

3. Is the upgrade too small to warrant the improvements in speed, and
would you recommend waiting a few months till Prescott is out, etc. to
notice a better ROI on the upgrade.

No, upgrading from a P4A 400FSB to a P4B 533 is a 'small' improvement, with
the capability
for Dual channel ram, and a 800fsb, your talking big improvement.

 

[dimize]

Yes. I noticed the difference between a 2.4 533fsb and my 3.0 800fsb
more than just a processor step. As for video, I've yet to find a game that
can
lag my 9700Pro AIW on the P4C800-E board w/1G of dual channel, (2x512mb)
and a 3.0 HT processor.


You could use any memory, but its only going to run it at DDR400 +/- 30% i
believe, as that
is as much leeway as the bios has with auto settings, you may get it higher
with manual tweaking
but unless you plan to OC your chip (why) why OC your memory.


No, upgrading from a P4A 400FSB to a P4B 533 is a 'small' improvement, with
the capability
for Dual channel ram, and a 800fsb, your talking big improvement.

Thanks for your input, Philip. I will continue to read these boards
for the next few weeks before I get started. I'm reading of some
interest in the AMD 64 and seeing some decent reviews which is
altering my mindset as well.

Dim-Ize